Freezing? Here’s the Fastest Way to Warm Up

For those nippy days when you forgot your mittens

Whether it’s snowing sideways or just chillier than you planned for, sometimes you need to heat up fast. Guess what? You can do it with just your breath, at any time, in any place.

Here’s a handy little technique we borrowed from our yoga class.

Step 1: Hold your hand up to your face, inhale deeply and exhale through an open mouth, like you were trying to fog up a mirror right in front of you. The sound should resemble a deep “haaaa” (à la an exasperated Napoleon Dynamite or even Darth Vader).

Step 2: Keep breathing, but close your mouth and drop your hand. Try to recreate this same sound, but by breathing in and out only through your nose. Lightly contract the back of your throat to push the air both ways. Repeat for at least ten cycles of breath.

What it does: This technique engages your throat and respiratory muscles. And whenever your muscles are working, your internal heat will build.